Juan Agudelo and the National Team Forward Situation

With a season of high hopes ahead and a good start against the Sounders, its strange to consider that the Red Bulls face a big challenge against what could be considered a reeling Columbus Crew side. The reason being that the roster will be decimated by national team call ups. One of those call-ups is Juan Agudelo.

Agudelo's stock has skyrockted since his late season performances and Men's National Team appearances. He scored in South Africa, setup a goal against Chile, and this past weekend against the Sounders he masterfully fought off two defenders before rocketing a shot past Kasey Kellar for the win. And yet, nobody wants to give this kid his due. They're afraid he'll become another Freddy Adu and will one day become a trivia question. Despite the fact that his recent form has outshone his fellow forwards in camp, everyone seems afraid to give him a shot to be the man. When will the world realize that every case in athletics is different. For every Ryan Leaf, there's a Sam Bradford. Not every player when handed the reigns early crumbles. Let's not forget while Agudelo is only 18, Adu was told he was the savior of American soccer when he was 14.

Compare, Agudelo's competition in the thin USMNT forward pool right now. Altidore's national form has dipped since he hasn't been able to log regular playing time in Europe. Jozy's still very young and I still believe he's got the goods, but I think he needs to come home and re-hone his game. Edson Buddle is another player I like to the point that he should have started most of the World Cup matches over Findley. However, he's not exactly lighting it up for a lousy German second division side. Then there's Teal Bunbury, another bright young star, but still not quite at Agudelo's level yet. He's also injured, otherwise he might've been in camp. Finally, there's the exceptional story of Charlie Davies. Even if he is on archrival DC United I am rooting my heart out for this guy. The fact that he scored two goals is also extremely encouraging. It was hard not getting a little misty eyed watching his emotional post game interview. However, I hate to be the downer, but it was only one game, one of his goals was on a PK and another happened because a usually sound defender fell down, though what Davies did after that was nice. If Davies continues to light up the league, then he absolutely needs to be on the Gold Cup roster. However, right now, we need to take a deep breath and see what happens in week 2.

Bob Bradley has to go with the hot hand. There is no question that hot hand is Agudelo. If he's going to get thrown in the fire, shouldn't be against Argentina in a meaningless friendly anyway? All this kid has done is make plays. It's time we embrace the enthusiasm for the kid and let Agudelo play.